The New York City Family Court undertakes supervision of thousands of ghetto youngsters who have not adhered to the dehumanizing regimen imposed on them by public welfare agen cies and whose behavior, except when judged by highly arbitrary standards, is not antisocial. Its policy is to take jurisdiction of nearly any youngster brought before it, on the assumption that the ravages of poverty and injustice can be eradicated by psy chologists and social workers. What happens instead is that youngsters are forced into meaningless relationships with lawyers, probation officers, and judges. Too often, furthermore, the court's services are at the disposal of "law-and-order" men who use psychiatric tests to spot and "preventively detain" youngsters who have not committed antisocial acts.
